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Dear Stenwood families,
It is hard to believe that there is only one week left in this school year! It was nice to see so many families come through our student item pick up this week and we loved being able to wish everyone a happy end of the school year in person. Thanks to our 6th grade parents and teachers who made pick up extra special for our 6th graders. If you could not make it to Stenwood during your assigned pick up time, please plan on coming by Stenwood on Monday, June 8th between 8am - noon or between 2pm - 5pm.
Along with the joys of seeing our Stingers in person this week, we also experienced the heartache as our nation grappled with tragedy, anger, hate, and strife. Stenwood stands with FCPS in denouncing racism and hate and we strive to make our school a welcome home to all of our students and their families, regardless of race, ethnicity, or background. We are committed to continually bettering ourselves for the sake of our children and this community; we firmly believe our diversity is our strength. Our hearts go out to all of those personally impacted by this week’s events. We hope the resources offered below may prove useful to all those continuing to seek information about supporting their children through these difficult times:
It is also with a heavy heart that we share with you the staff members that will be leaving our Stenwood community next year:
- Stephanie Ryan, 1st grade teacher, has accepted a job in Colorado, where her husband recently began a new job.
- Christina Wutzke, 4th grade teacher, will be teaching in Nebraska next year, closer to her family.
- Anne Regan, Art teacher, was offered a full time position at Terraset ES in FCPS, closer to home.
- Vicki Dols, Resource teacher, will be retiring this year after an extraordinary teaching career.
- Elma Price, our PHA, will be transitioning to Westlawn ES next year- also right here in FCPS.
We will miss all of these incredible educators and wish them the best in their new endeavors!
In anticipation of the possible scenarios for next year, we need to gather some additional information regarding technology in your home. This survey is very similar to the one sent out in March. At that time, FCPS was looking to ensure every family had at least one device students could access; at this point we want to make sure that students are 1 to 1 with a laptop in your home. We know some students are sharing with siblings, using tablets, or are working with older personal laptops that are not fit to handle the learning platforms being used. Please complete this survey by June 15th. Stenwood staff will be following up with families who do not complete the survey.
As our official school year comes to a close, please be aware of all the free summer learning opportunities available to you from both FCPS and from our very own Stenwood teachers! The summer learning section below summarizes how you can keep your child engaged in learning. While summer learning will be open to any Stenwood student, if you plan to participate in online sessions with our Stenwood teachers, we would appreciate a response on this form by Monday, June 15th to assist in our planning.
Sincerely,
Erica Riley, Principal
esriley@fcps.edu
Twitter @esriley1
Meredith Mitchell, Assistant Principal
mamitchell@fcps.edu
Summer Learning Opportunities
This summer there will be multiple ways to stay engaged in learning!
1. Stenwood Summer Learning: Learn online with some of our amazing Stenwood teachers! Online learning will include 1-2 hours/week of synchronous time and run from June 30th - July 30th on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is free and open to all Stenwood students, but we request that you fill out this form by Monday, June 15th if you are interested in participating to assist with our teachers’ planning. We will send an e-Notify email with more specifics and schedules for this opportunity.
2. Math and Language Arts Essentials Summer Practice Books: FCPS will be mailing review work books out to families by the end of June. Every student who is not opted out will receive two Essentials Summer Practice books: one for reading and one for math. The Practice Books are not intended to teach new content; it is a review of key content from the 2019-2020 school year. They will also be posted on FCPS 24/7 Learning Blackboard (Continuity of Learning Resources page- ES) as fillable PDF files on June 29th. If you would like to opt back in to receiving these, you will need to do so before June 10th, using this link.
4. Stingers are Readers - Summer Reading! We want all of our Stenwood Stingers to READ, READ, READ! To help us find new books to read, we invite all of our Stingers to share book recommendations on our Summer Reading Flipgrids. After reading a book this summer, click on one of the links below, record a short Book Recommendation, including the title, author, and why you would recommend the book. Check the Filpgrid often to see what books your friends and teachers are recommending:
K-2 Flipgrid
(For students who have completed Kindergarten through 2nd Grade)
3-6 Flipgrid
(For students who have completed 3rd-6th Grade)
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5. Live Read Alouds with Mr. Fenton: Mr. Fenton, our IT specialist, likes to read with our Stenwood Stingers and would like to continue reading over the summer. Listen to exciting books about Llamas destroying the world, stories from Sideways School, Wizards of Once, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and many more!
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Sessions will be held twice per week: Tuesdays @ 11am (K-3) and Wednesdays @ 11am (4-6). He (and some special guests!) will read a variety of books. Your student can listen and join discussion in one or both sessions which will include students from both schools he supports: Freedom Hill and Stenwood. The sessions begin June 15th and 16th.
If your student is interested, please fill out the Google form to be invited into the Blackboard Collaborate session. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Craig Fenton: craig.fenton@fcps.edu.
6. Google Classroom: All Stenwood Google Classrooms will stay up through August 14. Students will have access to all materials posted from Spring distance learning from their homeroom teacher and specialist teachers. No new material will be posted after June 12. Please contact Jackie Krum if you have any Google Classroom or Blackboard questions or concerns.
Moving Over the Summer?
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If your family is moving over the summer or will not be attending Stenwood next year, please contact our registrar, Sonja Hunt at snhunt@fcps.edu. Thank you! |
Emotional and Mental Wellness Resources
The Parent Resource Center has a Padlet website for “Emotional and Mental Wellness Resources for Families” which has some helpful information. If you feel it would be worthwhile sharing with families, here’s the link: https://padlet.com/valrieeisele/emotions
Food Resources
FCPS continues to expand the number of locations for food sites. Please use this link as it will continue to be updated. If you need additional support, please contact Mrs. Hapangama or Mrs. Appleton. |
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Essentials Summer Practice Books
Many of you chose to go paperless and opt out of receiving the mailed copies of the distance learning packet. If you have opted out and would like to opt in to receive the Essentials Summer Practice Book, please follow the same link and sign in. Click on “Restore Printed Copies” to resume mailings.
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Every student who is not opted out will receive two Essentials Summer Practice books: one for reading and one for math. Families that continue to opt out of paper mailings can access fillable PDF files of the Essentials Summer Practice Books on FCPS 24/7 Learning Blackboard (Continuity of Learning Resources page- ES) on June 29th. |
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